3/16/2020 12:53:00 PMNew cases of virus creep downstateWhile restaurants and bars will close, state is pushing forward with the primary

Peter HancockCapitol News Illinois

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois is reporting 29 new cases of novel coronavirus, COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 93 cases in 13 counties in Illinois. Five additional counties are now reporting cases – Champaign, Clinton, Sangamon, Whiteside, and Winnebago. Other locations with cases include Chicago and Cook, Cumberland, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, St. Clair, and Woodford counties.

In addition to ordering bars and restaurants to close to the public, llinois Gov. JB Pritzker also directed state agencies to scale down operations while maintaining core functions and essential services. That means select employees will continue to report to work while others will either work remotely or remain at home, on call. All state employees will continue to be paid during the work stoppage, the administration said.

Pritzker took the unprecedented step Sunday to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic by ordering bars and restaurants in the state closed to the public starting on Tuesday, March 17, which is both St. Patrick’s Day and Illinois’ Primary Election Day.

While restaurants and bars will close, polling places will remain open. The state is pushing forward with Tuesday’s primary election, although the coronavirus is causing headaches for some county elections supervisors as poll workers drop out in fear of catching the disease.

The governor’s office said today the state is not planning to delay the primary despite the viral outbreak. In Illinois, there’s no process for canceling or postponing the vote, said Matt Dietrich, spokesman for the State Board of Elections.

“This is unprecedented so it’s not clear exactly what the process would be for changing it, though it likely would involve a request to the attorney general to seek a court order,“ Dietrich said.

Meanwhile, restaurants will remain open to drive-through and delivery service, but in-store dining will be closed through March 30. Restaurants and bars must close at the end of their business day today.

Schools will continue to provide meals to children, although classes in both public and private K-12 schools have been cancelled during that same period.

“I know how difficult this will be on small businesses around the state,” Pritzker said during his daily news briefing Sunday in Chicago. “This is another hard step. But we must do everything that we can to safeguard the health and safety of the citizens of the state of Illinois. And that requires urgent action.”

Sunday’s actions were just the latest in a series of measures Pritzker has taken that, together, amount to what may be the broadest-scale shutdown of social activity in modern memory in Illinois, even surpassing the security measures taken in the immediate wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

But the actions also are in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health officials who say “social distancing” is one of the most effective ways of controlling the spread of the virus, for which there is not yet an effective vaccine.

Sunday’s briefing capped a weekend in which Pritzker engaged in a high-profile battle with the White House over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, a battle that began when hundreds of international travelers returning to the United States were bottlenecked Saturday night at the Customs and Border Control checkpoint at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.

In a tweet directed specifically at the Trump administration, Pritzker lashed out.

“The crowds & lines O’Hare are unacceptable & need to be addressed immediately,” he tweeted. “@realDonaldTrump @VP since this is the only communication medium you pay attention to — you need to do something NOW. These crowds are waiting to get through customs which is under federal jurisdiction.”

By Sunday afternoon, Pritzker began downplaying his tensions with the White House, saying he had been assured personally by Vice President Mike Pence that Customs and Border Patrol would double its staff at O’Hare.

“I don’t usually get heated on Twitter, and I always try to work through official channels when possible,” Pritzker said during the briefing. “But when I saw hundreds of people crammed together for many hours at O’Hare, in exactly the conditions I have been warning about for days, I was furious.”

Article Comment Submission Form

Please feel free to submit your comments.

If you are looking for the SPEAK OUT submission form, you can find it by clicking here: Speak Out Form

Article comments are not posted immediately to the Web site. Each submission must be approved by the Web site editor, who may edit content for appropriateness. There may be a delay of 24-48 hours for any submission while the web site editor reviews and approves it.

NOTE: All information on this form is required. Your telephone number and email address will not be displayed or shared.